Mindfulness as a Management Skill Part I

Having a Lean culture will get you incredible results with your company that can last for a long time. It can also win you a Shingo Prize which is the top Lean award you can achieve. Some results include reducing costs structures by over 50%, improving quality to near zero defects, reducing turnover from as high as 25% down to as low as 2%. However only 2% of companies get what they want from a Lean effort. The primary issues that we find is that most organizations focus just on the technical changes and very little or not enough on the behavioral changes. There are very specific cultures that make Lean possible and most organizations don’t have this culture to begin with. You can learn more by watching this 30 minute webinar “Why Lean Fails” on the cultural elements. To change a culture take leadership and leaders need certain skills.

At the core of the change is looking at behavior change. Behavior change is the largest reason why Lean (for that matter any change) fails. Mindfulness is the one thing that managers can leverage as a skill to enable the change. Here is how it works:

Mindfulness is just about being aware. Being aware of your emotions, surroundings, other people’s emotions, and their surroundings. Practicing mindfulness can be done several ways. In part II we’ll explore the science behind mindfulness and what are some techniques you can use.

Want to learn more about mindfulness and how it can help you in your growth as an employee, leader, and/or manager? Please schedule a free call with The Lean Way. Please fill out the information below.